Lost Wages

When Do My Checks Start?

Under Georgia law your employer and their insurance company are allowed 21 days to investigate your case and decide if they are going to accept your claim. So in most cases you will not see any money for 3 weeks.

Weekly income benefits in Georgia workers’ compensation law are called TTD benefits. TTD stands for “temporary total disability.” Your TTD payment will equal two-thirds of your average weekly wage, with a maximum under the law of $575 per week.

If your claim is accepted, you will get your first TTD check no later than 21 days after the first day you missed work. That first check will not pay you for your first week of missed work – you will only get paid for the 2nd and 3rd week of missed time.

If you miss 21 consecutive days in a row, the insurance company has to pay you for week one of missed work.

Not only do you have to miss work to recover TTD benefits but you will need a “no work status” letter from an authorized workers’ compensation doctor. You can also get TTD benefits if the authorized doctor puts you on light work status but your employer does not have a light duty job available.

If your employer and their insurer conduct an investigation and decide that they are going to challenge your claim, they will file a notice of controvertion. If your claim is controverted, you will not get any TTD benefits until the insurance company backs down or until a judge orders the insurer to start making payments.

If the insurance company is late in making payment, they will owe you a financial penalty which will be added to your TTD check.

How Much Will I Get Each Week?

Your TTD payment will be 2/3 of your average weekly wage, up to a maximum of $575 per week. Your average weekly wage calculation will look at your previous 13 weeks of employment. If you have not been on the job for 13 weeks or if you were working only part time, then we can argue that your average weekly wage should be based on the earnings of a similarly situated employee

Runaround from Employer or Insurance Company

Insurance companies are notorious for sending TTD payments late, missing payments entirely, cutting off claimants randomly and other similar actions. We think it is important to send a message early that you will not stand for this kind of runaround. When you are out of work, every dollar counts and a delay of even a few days can be disastrous. If you are getting the runaround in any aspect of your case, please call us for helpful advice.